Proud Mammal Kane

Raised by sloths. Invented the hula-hoop. Enjoyed a short stint as a zombie in Haiti. Now he makes games.

Published: 39 articles

The Origins of Jenga

The game Jenga is a well known and often copied game of wooden plank stacking that originated in Indonesia in the early 1900s. It is played today for fun, and in some cultures it is a way to ward off ill fortune. But it has a darker origin than most people would ever guess. A story of evil, blood, and imprisonment… While this may sound strange, and is something you never would have guessed about the beloved game Jenga… It’s all true. and it gets so much weirder, lets talk about the origins of Jenga.

jenga 1

                              The family game of defeating evil

 

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Original Game: Future War

So… lets talk about War. It’s a game, sure, but only just barely. If you’ve lived under a rock or never seen a deck of cards before here’s how it works. 1st you split the deck into two halves, give one of the halves to another human being (or… I suppose you don’t really even need a sentient opponent), 2nd draw a card from each deck and see which is bigger, 3rd repeat. 4th If you tie, draw a few face down-cards then another face-up card,see which is bigger to resolve both fights. That’s it. Nothing else. Well you see the problem just as much as me, it’s not really a game, there is no gameplay involved. I decided to fix it. I call this new game… Future War (starring Daniel Bernhardt).

Future War Box Art

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Game Review: Mindtrap

Mindtrap… now this is a blast from the past. I inherited this game from my cousin when his mom was throwing away things from their basement. I leapt upon the opportunity to own a game my cool older cousin had once shown me, this thinking game that was equal parts awesome and foreboding forbidden knowledge. A game that requires no friends to play. A game that focuses on the power of abstract thinking. A game that often has no real answers. A game that simply cannot be beat by modern competitors because there are no modern competitors. As unique a game as one could ever play. Lets talk about it.

from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DAYM7YZTL.jpg

Amazing package design too. This game has pizzazz.

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Game Review: Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens is a fast paced “don’t draw the wrong card” type of game where you have some limited Uno-esque powers like skipping turns, undrawing cards, and set matching. It’s easy to see why the game was such a success on Kickstarter, because it offers a visual feast along with a side of absurd humor. To top it off, the game takes about 10 minutes to play tops. I love it, but my innate tendencies say I have to pick it apart…

from http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/avoid22.jpg

hehe… cheetah butt

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Game Review: The Witcher Adventure Game (Digital Edition)

Proud Mammal Kane 374 Comments

I was gifted a video game this past December which is a digital version of the board game – The Witcher Adventure Game – and I’ve played just about 10 full games of it. It works off the ideas of the high fantasy book/video game series The Witcher – the books I have not read, half because most of them haven’t been translated from the original Polish and half because ain’t nobody got time for that – the games I have not played, despite owning the first two because… [see latter section of the previous excuse]

from http://static.cdprojektred.com/thewitcher/gfx/adventuregame/Share-Thumbnail.jpg

Dandelion is going to mess you up with that Lute.

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